Double Cover Reveal: Put Out and Beard Mode by Lani Lynn Vale

Angie is a survivor. Anything you could throw at her, she could overcome.

After her father left her like a pile of unwanted trash, she began fighting. Fighting to build a life. Fighting to keep her child. Fighting to matter.

She thought she had it all figured out.

Then Bowen Race Tannenbaum walks into her life, turning it into a flurry of confusion, hope, and then ultimately despair. He tore down, brick-by-brick, her carefully constructed world, leaving her heart in tatters and longing for more. Such as a happily ever after, something that wasn’t ever going to happen for her. Not when she couldn’t give him what he wanted. He’d break her, and she couldn’t be put back together a second time.

Bowe wasn’t always so jaded, but when you keep drawing a losing hand, it tends to affect a man. He didn’t mean to lash out so carelessly. But he was so over being told no. He was done being lied to. He was through with being cheated on.

This time, his heart was getting what it wanted. If Angie wasn’t able to see what he was offering, what was right here in front of her, well then, he’d just have to damn well show her.

“What’s wrong with you?” Booth asked, following me.

I turned my head only far enough so he could see my glare.

Obviously, though, the glare didn’t’ have the intended affect when he continued to walk into the room, parking his ass in the bunk straight across from mine.

Sure, the bunk was his, and I wasn’t the only one who shared this room, but I wasn’t up for any chatter. Especially after the night I’d had.

“You gonna make me guess?” He continued as if I wasn’t ignoring him.

“You’re a persistent bastard,” I grumbled, turning my head to face the wall.

“Come on, you know you want to talk to your best friend, Booth.” He teased.

I tossed the man a look.

“You’re not my best friend.” I told him.

He pouted, and I sighed, rolling until I was on my back, very carefully since it seemed the bed was about the same width as my back.

“I’ve completely and utterly failed in getting the woman I want to go out with me to even hold a conversation with me for longer than a minute.” I told him. “I saw her last night—with another man—and I don’t know what to do to get her to see me.”

Booth’s mouth fell open.

“You’re shitting me.”

I shook my head, feeling heat hit my face as I did.

“No."

“But…you’re the dream boat. You’re the man that Masen tells me all the time is the hottest guy at the firehouse. You literally could have anyone that you wanted. What’s the deal?” He kicked his feet up so they were resting on the side of mine.

“Nothing to tell. I’m just…awkward.”

“Awkward, how?” He persisted. “Awkward as in you can’t talk to a woman awkward, or awkward in which you accidentally whip your dick out of your pants to break the ice instead of using your big boy words?”

I tossed him a look. “She was shot…or something. I have the girl in the back of the ambulance with her shirt off and all I can do is stare at the scars on her abdomen. My staring kept me from asking her anything when I had the chance. Now that I’ve decided that she’s worth losing my favorite mechanic’s trust, I’ve done everything I could to speak with her, and she still ignores me.”

“Where does she work?” He asked.

“The hospital and for her brother. You know her.” I cleared my throat. “It’s Angie.”

Booth stared at me for all of two seconds before he fell backwards to the cot.

“You’re doomed.”

I laughed, zero humor in my voice.

“Yeah, I know."

The tones dropped indicating a call was coming through for us.

We both paused in our conversations, and I cursed when I heard what it was.

“Mother fucker.” I sighed. “This has to be a fucking joke.”

Booth’s face showed the way he felt about the call that had come in just like I was sure mine was as well.

“This is some fucking cosmic joke, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Sorry buddy.”

Hurrying to my feet, I jogged lightly to the bay where my turnout gear was located.

Despite this being a medical call, we were still required to put our gear on.

Which was why I was sweating my balls off when we finally arrived at Soco Garage, the very same garage that none other than Angie Soco also worked.

Aaron don’t ever call me Fatbaby’ Sims is lucky to be alive. Or at least that is what everyone keeps telling him. He doesn’t feel lucky, though.

He’s scarred, has more than a little bit of a bad attitude, and there isn’t a single day that goes by that he doesn’t wish his wife would’ve just finished off the job.

After being denied his old position at the fire department, he leaves, and doesn’t look back. He heads straight to Alabama and into the semi-welcoming arms of The Dixie Wardens MC. There he becomes a part of a brotherhood that forces him to get back in the land of the living.

---

Imogen is a smart girl. A girl who doesn’t always make the best decisions.

Her heart is in the right place when she walks into that prison, but it doesn’t take long for her to realize that her heart shouldn’t have had any say so in the matter. Especially when one wrong move lands her in the arms of a scarred man that looks frightening enough to scare any sane woman away.

Immediately enthralled by the angry man, she tries to get closer to him. But the harder she tries to get to know him, the further he pushes her away.

---

The only thing Aaron wanted to do after his now ex-wife was sent to jail was escape. Escape the awful memories. The pity-filled eyes. The curious glances.

He does a damn fine job at ensuring he draws as little as attention as possible, but then that annoying woman with her startling blue eyes starts hammering away at his resolve. Makes him feel when he doesn’t want to feel.

Imogen comes into his life and carves out a place for herself, obliterating his defenses one heated kiss at a time.

It doesn’t take long, and he realizes he’s in deep. Too deep to ever want to come out.

Imogen will know what it’s like to be loved by a reject.

“New guy.” Someone muttered behind me.

I turned only my head to find Stone, the president, staring at me with hard eyes.

“Yeah?” I asked him, dropping my bag on the floor and heading in his direction instead of out the door like I’d originally intended.

“You’re here because you have a special set of skills that we need.” The leader of the band of misfits, Stone, drawled.

I nearly laughed.

“That sounds like a bad line out of a movie.” I muttered, wondering where he was going with this.

He tossed me a glare and then yelled.

“Truth!” Stone yelled. “Ghost! Get the fuck in here!”

Ghost and Truth walked in the door at the same time, both of them turning to the side to walk inside, and stared at Stone

“Ghost, hold Truth down so New Guy can give him the fuckin’ shot.” Stone grumbled.

Ghost tackled Truth and wrestled him to the desk, then sat on him while Stone leaned back and watched.

“No, motherfucker!” Truth yelled. “I don’t want it!”

“It’s the fuckin’ flu shot, you dumb shit. Not a fuckin’ tracking device. Take a fuckin’ chill pill.” Stone grumbled, staring at the scuffle that was going down in front of him.

I picked up the syringe from the table, similar to the one I’d given everybody else’s flu shot with, and stabbed it in the meat of Truth’s arm.

Truth bellowed in rage, and I flipped the guard up on the syringe before tossing it into the trash can.

“Done?” I asked Stone. “I have to get to work.”

Stone nodded.

“Yeah, thanks.” He nodded. “Have fun at the nut house.”

I grunted something unintelligible, causing him to laugh.

“Don’t sound so excited.” He laughed.

I flipped him off and walked out the door just as Ghost was letting Truth up

“Why you gotta be such a big motherfucker?” Truth growled. “If you’d been anyone else, I’d have gotten away.”

“Why do you think I called Ghost instead of anyone else?” I heard Stone reply.

I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 5, so I can assure you that they are a handful. I’ve been with my paramedic husband now for ten years, and we’ve produced three offspring that are nothing like us. I live in the greatest state in the world, Texas.